CLINTON, S.C. – Trailing by a run in the seventh, the Presbyterian College baseball team rallied for three runs with Nick Guimbarda providing a two-RBI double to propel PC to the 7-5 victory over Butler on Tuesday afternoon at the PC Baseball Complex in Clinton, S.C. PC evens its record at 7-7, while Butler drops to 6-6.

How It Happened

The Blue Hose broke the game open in the fourth with three runs. AJ Priaulx got it started with a double down the right field line and Nick Wise followed with a single to put two on with no outs. Thatcher Coleman then provided the first run of the game with a single to score Priaulx and put runners at first and second, still with no outs. After a sacrifice bunt by Nick Guimbarda moved the runners up, an RBI groundout by Brett Auckland and an RBI single by Glen Casaceli plated both runners and made it 3-0 lead.

PC added to its lead with a single run in the fifth. Cletis Avery singled deep in the hole at shortstop to put a man aboard with one out. He would steal second and third base, giving him his seventh and eighth stolen bases of the season, before scoring on a wild pitch to make it a 4-0 PC lead.

Butler answered in the sixth, scoring three runs to cut the lead to one. Back-to-back walks and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with just one out. PC then turned to the bullpen but back-to-back walks again allowed a run to score and loaded the bases, still with one out. After another a pitching change, a fielder’s choice allowed two runs to score to make it a 4-3 game, before a lineout finally ended the inning.

The Bulldogs took the lead in the seventh with a pair of runs. Two straight walks started the inning before a bunt single loaded the bases with no outs. Jackson Dean managed a 6-4-3 double play to get two outs but a run came across to tie the game at 4-4. Chris Maranto then gave BU its first and only lead of the game with an RBI single to center to score the runner from third and make it a 5-4 ballgame.

PC answered in the bottom half of the inning with three runs to take the lead for good. Tyler Weyenberg led off with a single to left center and a sacrifice bunt by Cletis Avery moved him to second. Priaulx continued to be red hot at the plate, scoring Weyenberg with an RBI single to left center to re-tie the game at 5-5. An error by the shortstop allowed Colton Chapman to reach and put two board, before a flyout accounted for the second out. Guimbarda came through in the clutch, doubling just inside the left field line to plate both runners and give PC the 7-5 advantage.

The Blue Hose bullpen would shut things down from there. Tristan Roberts came on and worked a scoreless eighth inning, retired the Bulldogs in order with a lineout, a groundout and a strikeout. In the ninth, Ryan Hedrick would come for his first save of the year. The junior righty allowed a leadoff single but induced a 1-6-3 double play to erase the runner, before getting a groundout to end the game.

Pitchers of Record

Jackson Dean (1-0) recorded his first win in a Blue Hose uniform, working 1.0 scoreless inning in relief and allowing just a pair of hits. The righty threw was sharp on the afternoon, throwing nine of his 12 pitches for strikes.

Butler reliever Josh Goldberg (2-1) suffered the loss, allowing two runs on two hits in 0.2 innings of work out of the bullpen.

Hedrick then picked up the save with a scoreless ninth inning, throwing a first-pitch strike to all three bats to work the final frame with no problems.

Player of the Game

Nick Guimbarda provided the heroics on the day with the go-ahead, two-RBI double in the bottom of the seventh to put PC in front for good. Guimbarda was 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and two RBIs at the plate against the Bulldogs, raising his average to .326 on the season.

Notables

- AJ Priaulx remained hot at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and an RBI. The lefty has had three multi-hit games over his last four and has either scored a run and driven in a run in five of his last six games. He improved his team-leading batting average to .378 on the season.

- Nick Wise had his second straight multi-hit game, going 2-for-2 with a run in the win. Wise has now scored nine runs on the year, second-most on the squad, while batting .364 with a .515 slugging percentage in 11 games played.

- Hunter Kyzar turned in a fine start on the bump, working 5.1 innings and allowing two runs on just two hits with four strikeouts against a pair of walks. The lefty retired 10 straight batters between the second and fifth innings and allowed just two base runners before the sixth inning.

Up Next

The Blue Hose return to action on Wednesday afternoon with a 3 p.m. contest against NC Central at the PC Baseball Complex.